Fires in the dark : healing the unquiet mind / Kay Redfield Jamison.

Title:

Author:

Jamison, Kay R.,

ISBN:

9780525657170

0525657177

9781984898203

1984898205

Edition:

First edition.

Publication Info:

New York :

Description:

x, 381 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps (chiefly color) ; 22 cm

Contents:

Prologue: The oldest branch of medicine -- The mind at war: healing the broken. The shadow of a great rock ; The night nurse ; Rivers -- Healers of the mind: priest, physician, and psychotherapist. And the god left ; Bearings in the dark ; Big Sur ; Sowings -- The healing arts: hero, artist, and storyteller. Island and quest ; They looked to their songs ; Ashen roots ; The eleventh hour -- Epilogue: Chesapeake.

Summary:

"The acclaimed author of The Unquiet Mind considers the age-old quest for relief from psychic pain and the role of the gifted healer in the journey back to health. "To treat, even to cure, is not always to heal." In this expansive cultural history of the treatment and healing of suffering, Kay Jamison writes about what makes an effective healer, and the role of imagination and memory in the regeneration of the mind. From the trauma of the bloodiest battlefields of the twentieth century to her own experience with bipolar disease, Jamison demonstrates how extraordinary psychotherapy can be when administered properly and explores the clinical reality that healing the mind requires, for both doctor and patient. She draws on the cases of W.H.R. Rivers, the renowned doctor who treated shell-shocked WWI soldiers, on the long history of physical treatments for mental distress and the ancient role of religion and myth in healing, and she looks at the heroic figures in our artistic culture who have healed us as a people, such as Paul Robeson. Fires in the Dark is a beautiful meditation on the quest and adventure of true healing"--

General Note:

"This is a Borzoi book." -- title page verso.

Personal Subject:

Rivers, W. H. R. (William Halse Rivers), 1864-1922.

Osler, William, Sir, 1849-1919.

Jamison, Kay R.

Subject(s):

Mental illness -- Treatment -- History.

Psychotherapy -- History -- 20th century.

Holds: Copies (not including on-order items):

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Call Number	Shelf Location	Status	Item Holds
Searching... East Library	Book	616.8914 JAMI	New Books	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Penrose Library	Book	616.8914 JAMI	New Books	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Penrose Library	Book	616.8914 JAMI	New Books	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR . The acclaimed author of An Unquiet Mind considers the age-old quest for relief from psychological pain and the role of the exceptional healer in the journey back to health.

"To treat, even to cure, is not always to heal." In this expansive cultural history of the treatment and healing of mental suffering, Kay Jamison writes about psychotherapy, what makes a great healer, and the role of imagination and memory in regenerating the mind. From the trauma of the battlefields of the twentieth century, to those who are grieving, depressed, or with otherwise unquiet minds, to her own experience with bipolar illness, Jamison demonstrates how remarkable psychotherapy and other treatments can be when done well.

She argues that not only patients but doctors must be healed. She draws on the example of W.H.R. Rivers, the renowned psychiatrist who treated poet Siegfried Sassoon and other World War I soldiers, and discusses the long history of physical treatments for mental illness, as well as the ancient and modern importance of religion, ritual, and myth in healing the mind. She looks at the vital role of artists and writers, as well as exemplary figures, such as Paul Robeson, who have helped to heal us as a people.

Fires in the Dark is a beautiful meditation on the quest and adventure of healing the mind, on the power of accompaniment, and the necessity for knowledge.

Author Notes

Clinical psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison was born on June 22, 1946. She received a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is considered one of the foremost experts on bipolar disorder, which she has had since her early adulthood. She is Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a Honorary Professor of English at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. She is the author of numerous books including An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness; Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide; and Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Psychologist Jamison (The Unquiet Mind) brings personal and professional insight to this rigorous, deeply felt meditation on psychological healing. Focusing on the relationships between sufferers and those who help them, Jamison begins with the discovery of combat-related trauma during WWI. Diagnosed with "shell shock," English poet Siegfried Sasson was treated by W.H.R. Rivers, a psychologist, physician, and anthropologist known as the "English Freud," who combined empathy with clinical brilliance. Healing need not come from psychologist, physician, or priest, Jamison notes, pointing to Black singer-activist Paul Robeson, whose music and art "expressed the suffering he saw in others and that he knew for himself; he lent it meaning." Other artists crafted memorable, mythopoeic protagonists, such as author Pamela Lyndon Travers's Mary Poppins. The stories of these characters can convey therapeutic effects, according to Jamison: "Those who enter into the worlds of exemplars and heroes... will be tutored in bravery, in suffering, and in suffering put to purpose." Citing her own experiences seeking help for depression, Jamison concludes that "healers leave their mark." It's an eloquent, wide-ranging, and edifying look at healing relationships of all kinds. (May)

Prologue The Oldest Branch of Medicine	3
I The Mind at War Healing the Broken
1 The Shadow of a Great Rock	15
2 The Night Nurse	38
3 Rivers	57
II Healers of the Mind Priest, Physician, and Psychotherapist
4 And the God Left	109
5 Bearings in the Dark	129
6 Big Sur	160
7 Sowings	171
III The Healing Arts Hero, Artist, and Storyteller
8 Island and Quest	187
9 They Looked to Their Songs	224
10 Ashen Roots	258
11 The Eleventh Hour	276
Epilogue Chesapeake	291
Acknowledgments	297
Notes	301
Index	361

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Table of Contents